Waiting in the Darkness
by MidnightBlack227
Summary: When Will disappears, strange things start to happen. And they cannot be stopped by anyone. But one. (New chapters every day or every other day) :)
1. Chapter 1

Nico

Nico awoke to the sound of bouncing. On the bed. On his bed.

"Wha? What time is it? Go back to bed…"

Nico opened his eyes and saw Bianca jumping at the foot of the bed happily. And a little too high for his liking.

"Bianca! Stop! It's only 6 am!," Nico moaned. "And, you're gonna hurt yourself!"

Bianca did one last jump, and landed awkwardly on-

"Accccckkkkkk! Jeez Bianca, that's my stomach… owww…" Nico grunted.

"Sorry daddy," Bianca grimaced. "It was an accident."

Nico immediately felt sorry. Every time his daughter apologized, he felt like he had to do everything in his power to make Bianca happy. He sat up and ruffled her hair.

"Ok, never mind. I think my stomach will survive. Now, let's go get you back to bed. 7 year olds need their sleep."

Nico swung his legs out of bed and led Bianca to her room. Walking back to the master bedroom, a realization hit Nico. Why is Will still asleep? Will was always up at 5:30 sharp, in order to make it to work on time. I better check on him… When Nico stepped into the bedroom, he saw Will. Asleep. And snoring. He's gonna be late for work!

"Will! It's 6 o'clock! I hate to break the beauty sleep but, you have work today…"

Will awoke with a start.

"What! I'm going to be late! Why didn't my alarm go off…" Will checked his phone and fumbled with it for a few seconds before leaping out of bed and throwing on his clothes.

"Bye Neeks," Will grinned, and kissed Nico on the cheek. "Love ya!" Nico smiled, shoved instant coffee into Will's hands, and opened the door. Will ran out like a crazed, late for work, father. Which he was, after all.

Nico strode back to the bedroom to get some more sleep. Plopping onto the bed, he lay on his back and sighed. Suddenly, the bedroom phone rang. Nico glanced at it suspiciously, then reached over the night table and picked it up.

"Hello, Nico speaking. How may I help you?"

"Neeks, It's me. Can you-"

Will was cut off by Nico.

"Wait. Why are you calling me? You just left for work!"

"Yeah, but kinda a problem. I got to work, and the building is deserted. Even the janitor isn't here."

Nico sat up in surprise.

"It's completely empty? Are you sure?"

"Look Neeks. It's not that big of a building. And everyone is usually here early."

Nico could hear the concern in Will's voice, and he didn't like that.

"Will, just come home. It's fine. I'm still here and Bianca hasn't gone to school yet."

"OK, I'll come ho-"

Will's voice was cut off and Nico heard his phone drop to the floor.

"Will? Will? Are you OK? Will? Say something!"

Nico heard nothing. Oh my gods, what just happened? I have to go check on him, but Bianca…


	2. Chapter 2

Nico drove at what was probably way over the speed limit, but he didn't care. Bianca sat in the back seat, still in her PJs and clutching her stuffed deer. Thoughts raced through Nico's mind even faster than he was driving. _Where is Will?... Is he OK?... He could be hurt! Or worse…_ Nico shook the thoughts out of his head and kept driving. Soon, he reached a small blue house near the bay.

"C'mon Bianca. It's time for a play date."

"Ok!"

Nico lead her up the steps of Percy's house, which were lined with sea glass, rocks, and boat rope. Bianca eagerly reached up and rung the doorbell. Nico noticed some shells glued onto the frame of the doorbell. Those are new… Probably Luke up to DIYs again. The door swung open, and there stood Annabeth, in pyjamas, holding a mug of green tea. Bianca threw her arms around Annabeth.

"Hi Annabeth! I lost a new tooth, but Nico wouldn't let me get it from the box because apparently we were in a rush."

"Ok Bianca," Annabeth smiled. "Luke is in the playroom. Why don't you go and see him?"

Bianca ran down the stairs and soon was happily squishing Luke's newest slime creation. Nico sighed. He still didn't get what was the big deal about slime. He had tried making some with Will once, but it failed. He turned to Annabeth.

"Ok, I have to go check on Will, you know-"

Annabeth interjected.

"Yes, Di' Angelo. I know. Now, I think Luke just spilled his slime on the carpet. See you!"

Nico heard Luke.

"Mom! I spilled something on the carpet… It might of not been slime? Can you come help?"

He turned and walked down the stairs, smiling to himself. _Slime. Wonderful_.

Then it hit him. _Will_! Nico ran to his car, accidentally kicking a few strands of boat rope out of place. Oops.


	3. Chapter 3

Once again, driving way over the speed limit, Nico sped through the streets of downtown. Pulling up at the entrance of Will's office, he jumped out of the car and ran straight into Percy.

Nico rubbed his face and groaned. "Owww. Wait… Percy?"

"Hi Nico! How's it going! I'm just on my way to the community center. You know, teaching swim lessons?"

"Yeah. Well, I got a call from Will, and…" Nico trailed off.

"Nico, is everything OK?," Percy frowned. "You don't look that good right now…"

Nico felt a surge of emotions. "No! Everything's NOT OK! Will could be hurt or dying! I need to find him! Get out of my way! Go teach your swimming or whatever!" Nico shoved Percy out of the way and stalked off to the office entrance.

"Nico wait!" Percy ran in after Nico. Nico ran straight to the elevator and stabbed the up button. Unfortunately, Percy ran in after Nico.

"Nico? What's going on? Is Will OK?"

Nico told Percy about the phone call. Percy's face darkened.

"Nico, we need to find Will."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out…"

"Ok. Here's the plan…"

As Nico and Percy were going over the details of the plan, the elevator started to stutter, then shake.

Then it came to a complete stop and the doors didn't open.


	4. Chapter 4

Bianca

Bianca was in the kitchen, helping Luke make unicorn poop slime.

"Bianca, pass me the borax."

"Ok! This one?"

"No. That's… Ok, I don't even know what that is…"

"Oh! This one says BORAX on the front! Here…"

Bianca poured some into the slime mixture.

Luke winced. "Um… Bianca? We're supposed to put that in the water. Here… let me see if I can fix it."

Luke grabbed a spoon and started to stir. He frowned.

"This isn't working. Let's watch the video again…"

As a cheerful girl with a British accent began to describe the process, Annabeth came downstairs. She scanned the large, sticky mess on the kitchen counter, and on the floor. Her eyes narrowed.

"Luke Chase-Jackson!," Luke froze, and the British girl continued to chatter. "I don't know what you're thinking, but you are 13 years old. Thirteen. And I expect you to clean your messes up, instead of sitting there and watching some stupid video!"

Luke sighed and began to clean up the mess. Bianca slowly reached over and paused KellyDIY's video.

As soon as the mess was clean, Annabeth announced,

"OK everyone. I checked the weather, and there is a storm warning. No going outside, or near the sunroom. Got it?"

Luke and Bianca nodded. As if on cue, it started raining, and Bianca heard the rumble of thunder. Then lightning. Luke jumped at the flash of light and ran behind the couch. However, Bianca was somewhat mesmerized by it. I mean, lightning is kinda cool, how it forms and such. Annabeth interrupted her thoughts.

"Luke, stop hiding there. I didn't vacuum this week. I'll be in my room, if anyone needs me. Also, no more slime for today."

Bianca glanced at the 37 containers on the coffee table, all containing various types and textures of… slime. Annabeth marched upstairs and sat down on her bed. Bianca glanced at Luke, still hiding behind the couch.

"Luke, are you gonna come out?"

"Ok I will, it seems like the lighting is done with…"

The sat down on the couch and played with various slimes.

"So this one is fluffy slime. It needs a lot of shaving cream. I borrowed Nico's because it smelled nice, and honestly, he doesn't even need to shave!"

"What's this one?"

"Ahhh. That is the famous butter slime."

"Doesn't look like butter," Bianca smirked. "Looks more like… your dad's breakfast."

The slime was dyed a bright blue. Bianca glanced down at her hands, which her also bright blue. Suddenly the lights flickered. It must be really windy. We might lose power. Bianca looked around for any other indicators of losing power, but everything seemed fine. Luke looked up too, and then stared at the fuse box. It was green. That was fine.

Then the lights went off. But only for five seconds. When they came back on, there was a sticky note on the butter slime.

RUN.


	5. Chapter 5

Luke froze. Then blinked. Just to make sure it wasn't a dream. When he opened his eyes, Bianca was gone.

"MOM! Bianca is gone! And the power went out! And there's a note -"

Luke stopped yelling when he realized Annabeth wasn't replying.

"Mom?"

Annabeth still didn't answer.

Luke pinched himself. It wasn't a dream.

"Mom? Are you OK?"

Luke ran up the stairs and fumbled with the hallway light switch. When the lights flickered on, the hallway was a mess. The windows were smashed, the plant was tipped over, and the other slime containers were spilled on the floor, creating a rainbow pool on the floor. Luke hopped over the slime and pushed the door open to his mother's room. And almost fainted. All over the walls and floor, there was blood. Too much blood. It tainted the air and gave the room an aura of death. Annabeth was nowhere to be seen. Luke scanned the walls in a panic. He realized the blood was writing.

FIND HIM. KILL HIM. AVENGE ME, LUKE JACKSON.

Luke screamed. Then the door slammed behind him and locked. Of course it locked. Luke began to feel dizzy. Then he passed out.

When he woke up again, he was in a pool of liquid. Slime? Nope. Water? Nope. Blood….? Yep. Luke jumped up and took in his surroundings. He was in a dark forest, but could see colourful lights in the distance. Remembering the blood, Luke felt around his head, legs, and arms, for blood. Nothing. Suddenly remembering something, he quickly checked his stomach and back. Nothing. At least he wasn't the one bleeding. Luke didn't recognize where he was. It wasn't the downtown park. It wasn't the pier. And it was not his house. Luke decided the best option would be to go towards the colourful lights. It seemed safe, and this forest wasn't gonna pick him up and place him in a comfy bed. He trudged off, glancing behind him every so often. After about 15 minutes of walking, Luke reached a fairground. It was deserted, obviously. Luke checked his watch. 1:36 am. Then why are all the lights on? The flickering lights seemed a little too joyful considering the drastic turn of events. A sudden noise made him jump. Laughter echoed from a colourful tent off to the side of the fairgrounds. Luke wondered if he should run back to the dark forest or just stay put. After doing a lot of worrying and some thinking, he decided on climbing up a tree. It was high up enough that no one could reach him, and it was nice and sturdy. As he climbed the tree, the wind blew, making the tree branches rattle. It was a scary sound. He found a comfortable crook in the branches, settled down, and closed his eyes. Then he opened them. What if I fall out of the tree? Luke decided to tie himself into the tree with his belt. Better hanging upside down than a pancake… Sighing with relief, he drifted off into sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**

Again, apologizing for the late chapter, so made this one a little longer. :) You all deserve it. Also, happy Easter!

And start reading if you havn't already. :D

Nico

When the elevator stuttered to a stop, Nico's first thought wasn't Dammit, we're stuck in an elevator, or, Oh my gods we're stuck in here and gonna die! AAAAAAAH! It was more like, Ugh why didn't Leo come with us. Percy seemed to think quite the opposite. He started banging on the walls and pushed the OPEN DOOR button like his life depended on it. Which it might have. Nico had an idea. Maybe we can shadow travel out of here! He scanned the room while the sound of buttons being attacked filled the small space. There was only one small shadow, cast by the elevator's side railing.

"PERCY!"

Percy looked up from torturing the open button.

"We can shadow travel out of here. There are a few small shadows!"

Nico scooted below the railing, dragging Percy with him. He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated. When he opened them, he was in the office's conference room, under the table. Percy was - Where's Percy? Maybe he- A grunt then a dull smack alerted Nico that Percy had smacked his head.

"Percy?"

"Nico?"

"Where are you?"

"Under a chair!"

Nico crawled out from the mahogany conference table, and saw Percy stuffed under a chair. Percy winced and slid out from under the chair, visibly shaken.

"Ok Percy, now all we have to do is find Will!" Nico announced, in perhaps a too cheerful voice.

"So… we split up?" Percy questioned. Splitting up didn't seen like a good idea. I mean, Nico can summon dead guys and do cool stuff, right?

"Yup! I'll look in that room," Nico pointed to a door with a frosted glass pane. "And you will look down there." Nico gestured towards the multi-level balcony. Percy hesitated for a second, then strode off towards the sliding doors that opened onto the spacious balcony. Nico walked over to the room, room 1344. He placed his hand on the doorknob. It was warm. That means that either someone's been in here, or Leo has set up a taco shop. Nico guessed that it was probably the first option. Which, of course, was not reassuring. He took a deep breath and swung the door open. Then gasped. What he saw was not what he had expected. At the worst, Nico anticipated some gorgons to be interrogating Will. It was much worse. Will was nowhere to be seen, and instead, a panel in the wall had been open. A label above the wall read ELEVATOR CONTROL. Wires had been ripped out of it, sparks still drifted lazily around them, and a wrench sat on the seat nearby. This is what must of stopped the elevator. But who? Nico took a closer look at the wires. All of them were destroyed. Frayed, ripped, shredded, some were even torn out completely. Who would do this? Nico squinted his eyes and looked at an engraving on the inside of the panel when something caught his eye. A tunnel, leading into the nest of wires, was visible. At the end of it, he could see a glowing light. It appeared to be a computer screen. Nico shoved some of the wires aside, careful not to electrocute himself, and crawled into the tunnel. As soon as he did, the panel slammed shut. Of course it had to. OF COURSE. Nico cursed and kept crawling. Suddenly the tunnel floor gave away to icy tile. Nico could see the computer screen clearly now, a sort of security feed. He could see Percy out on the balcony, looking up and down. He could see inside the elevator. Nico could also see… A person? A person, apparently in office 824, was sitting at their desk, seemingly asleep. Nico peered at the screen. Who was it?

All of the sudden, the person sat up, revealing their face.

It was a dark, shadowy form of Will Solace.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N

Since just writing this story can make life seem kinda drawn out, I am now taking prompts for other stories! YAY!

Now… Enjoy! :)

Wait don't enjoy just yet. This part is from the perspective of Will, so it goes back to about chapters 1 and 2.

NOW… enjoy. ^O^

Will

Will slid his bus pass into the card reader. The light flashed green and he stepped onto the bus, sitting down on the crowded bus. And stood up. Offering his seat to an elderly lady, he moved to grab the pole near the back. The bus lurched forward and glided through the streets of downtown. The bus jerked to a sudden stop, arriving at Will's stop. Will stumbled forward and tried to exit the bus as gracefully as possible. He pushed open the door. It didn't open. Glancing down at the handle, Will realized the door handle said PULL. He sighed. Guess I'm still getting used to the renovations. He PULLED the door open and was greeted by a large arrangement of flowers on the coffee table. There was a card sticking out of the glorious bouquet. Will took a closer look. Upon further inspection Will realized that the flowers were all black roses. He picked up the card and read it.

Dear person,

Please deliver these flowers to room 708.

Thank you!

Will shrugged. He might as well.

He strode quickly to the elevator, and pressed the floor 7 button. Then it hit him. Will worked in room 708. Sooooo these are for me? I am so dumb. And they must be from Nico! No one else gives out black roses… Will thought back to their wedding. Their corsage had been black roses. OK! The elevator bell dinged cheerfully breaking Will out of his thoughts. The doors slid open with a Woosh. Will stepped out and walked a few steps down the hall to his office. Fumbling for his key, he unlocked the door, ready to greet his colleagues.

"Hello everyone! Do you-" Will stopped talking when he realized the room was empty. And I'm not early, either. Will was confused. He set the roses down on his desk, and sat down in the comfy chair. Now we just wait for people to show up!

After about 20 minutes of looking at cat memes, he glanced up from his computer, which was displaying a very grumpy grumpy cat. No one was here… It's been a while, maybe I should call Neeks? Will reached for his phone and dialled his number. Nico picked up.

"Hello, Nico speaking. How may I help you?"

"Neeks, It's me. Can you-"

Will was cut off by Nico.

"Wait. Why are you calling me? You just left for work!"

"Yeah, but kinda a problem. I got to work, and the building is deserted. Even the janitor isn't here."

"It's completely empty? Are you sure?"

"Look Neeks. It's not that big of a building. And everyone is usually here early."

Nico could hear the concern in Will's voice, and he didn't like that.

"Will, just come home. It's fine. I'm still here and Bianca hasn't gone to school yet."

"OK, I'll come ho-"

Will felt someone behind him stick something in his neck, and that's all he remembered before everything went blurry.


	8. Chapter 8

Will

When Will woke up from his unconsciousness, he knew he was definitely not in room 708. First of all, it was a much nicer. Floor to ceiling windows lined the room, giving an amazing view of the traffic jams below. Secondly, the computer was much more hi-tech than his. The wifi had 6 full bars. That was not normal… Will happened to glance down at his arm. He almost passed out at the sight. His arm was definitely not what it used to be. It was grey, shadowy, and peeling in some pieces. He looked like a zombie from the Walking Dead. He felt like one, too. Slightly nauseous, sluggish, and very tired. Something was very, very, very wrong. He put his head on the mahogany desk, and sighed, thudding his fist onto the desk in frustration. Suddenly, his head jerked up, startled by a shout.

"Will Solace! That is mahogany!" The angry voice shrieked.

Will whipped around to see Nico standing in the corner of the room.

"Nico?"

"You like my flowers?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit you!" Nico grinned

"Um Ok well…" Will shoved his deformed arm under the desk, hoping Nico wouldn't notice.

"Will! What's wrong with your face?" Nico's eyes widened.

"What?" Will looked at his reflection in the computer screen monitor. His face was now zombified, too, and his eyes ad turned an unsettling colour of greeny grey. He started to get up from his chair. Nico sprinted over, and pushed him back down.

"Don't move," Nico commanded. "If you stay still, it'll spread faster."

"What? Isn't it not supposed to spread? Nico?"

Nico had retreated to a corner at the back of the room, smiling.

"Are you that gullible, Will Solace?" Nico laughed, a cold hollow laugh with no emotion, then turned around

"Nico! What are you doing?"

Nico whipped around, an evil grin on his face.

"Watch and learn, Solace."

Nico flickered, then reappeared as a figure dressed in all black, and deep, piercing red eyes.

"W-who are you?"

"I am you, Solace. I am your past, present, and future. And I am your final challenge."

The figure pulled out two katana knives, and twirled them over it's fingers. Will reached for a weapon, and came up with an unplugged computer mouse. He swung the cord around like a whip, trying to look intimidating. The figure scowled, and threw one knife at Will. He dodged, but hit his head on the chair, crumpling to the ground. The figure stalked towards him, holding a gleaming dagger.

"It all ends here, Will Solace." The figure's face was twisted with wrath. "Your last words please?"

Will managed to spit out a few words, his chest rising and falling in fear. "Bianca, you are the only way…"

The figure grinned. "Ok! Maybe I won't kill you," Will's heart pounded at the thought of living. "I'll just have to find Bianca." The figure drawled.

"She is the only way, after all."


End file.
